Bearing combination



July '8, 195 w. M. WHEILDON. JR

BEARING COMBINATION Filed March 24, 1950 MLL/AM Mnxwsu WHE/L'DOMJf Patented July 8, 1952 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE BEARING COMBINATION William Maxwell Wheildomdn, Framingham, Mass, assignor to Norton Company, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 24, 1950, Serial No. 151,582 I One object of the invention is to provide a journal bearing combination the parts of which will maintain their dimensions during the long periods of operation. Another object of the invention is to provide a journal bearing combination to meet unusual service conditions. Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a journal bearing combination which will run dry without failure. Another object of the invention is to provide a journal bearing combination which will operate properly and without unreasonable wear with such unusual lubricants as water and steam. Another object of the invention is to provide a journal bearing combination operable at high speeds and under high pressures. Another object of the invention is to provide a journal bearing combination which will not deteriorate at high temperatures. Another object is to provide a journal bearing combination of extremely long life in which the two elements thereof show little wear after long periods of operation with the usual lubricants such as various oils. Another object is to provide a journal bearing combination which will not freeze even under heavy loads and at high speeds. Another object is to provide a journal bearing combination which will not conduct electricity. Another object is to provide a bearing combination (involving no journal, such as in the case of flat bearings) having one or more of the above features and advantages.

Another object is to provide a bearing combination, whether journal bearing combination or involving fiat bearings or any other species, the

elements of which are unusually resistant to acids and other corrosives including in this connection water, which rusts iron and many steels, whereby the bearing combination will not be affected by any liquids.

Other objects will be in part obvious or in'part pointed out hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating some of the many possible embodiments of the invention:

Figure 1 is an axial sectional view of a shaft having a journal piece thereon rotatably supported by a bearing,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an elevation of apiston rod guide and slideway therefor (the latter in section) showing a sliding thrust plate attached to the 6 Claims. (Cl. 308-3) 2 piston rod guide and a slideway supporting plate held by the slideway,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the linedl of Figure 3.

The journal bearing combination of the present invention is zirconium oxide and boron carbide. By zirconium oxide I mean a massive piece of crystalline zirconium oxide (desirably containing 3% to 6% of a stabilizing agent'such as lime CaO) made by uniting, under heat and pressure, granules of previously fused zirconia. That is to say, a, quantity of the material is melted in an electric furnace, then it is allowed to solidify and finally it is crushed or otherwise disintegrated to form granules of any desired grit size. Sometimes the starting material is zircon and sometimes it is zirkite or baddeleyite, togetherwith enough carbon to reduce the other oxides present and together with enough iron to unite with the silicon reduced from silica to form a ferrosiliccn which goes to the bottom of the pig or ingot, and preferably together with 3% to 6% lime on the amount of ZrO2 in the ore. At other times the fusion is a fusion of relatively pure zirconium oxide, with or without the added lime, this zirconium oxide having been made by chemical processes and lacking the desired physical characterlstics until it is fused and allowed to crystallize from molten phase.

It is now possible to take a quantity of granular zirconium oxide having a purity of 98% total ZlOz plus CaO which may or may not have 3% to 6% of lime on the total ZrO2, place this in a suitable mold and mold the granular material to a solid body by the application of pressure coin cident with heating. The pressure should beat least 1000 pounds per square inch and can be greater, there being no upper limit except that imposed by the strength of the mold which is usually made of graphite. Two thousand five hundred pounds to the square inch has been found to be a very practical pressure. The temperature of molding is preferably between 1700" C. and 1800 C. for the best results. The grit size of the zirconium oxide should preferably be small, preferably below 325 mesh. This molded material is very dense having less than 10% pores (as calculated by specific gravity methods).

Preferably part of 'my journal bearing combina- The other 'part of the journal bearing combination according to' this invention is boron carbide. This also should be a massive piece and can likewise be made by molding with heat and pressure. I can use boron carbide of the formula 34C including materials having excess boron and also materials having excess carbon. The boron carbide useful for bearings according to this invention should be 98% total boron and carbon and can range from the empirical formula 33.850 to the :empirical formula B5250. The manufacture "and molding of boron carbide is now well known and has been described in several patents so I do not need to describe the same herein.

In case the journal bearing combination is for supporting a rotating shait andinsome cases where a reciprocating shalt"is cylindricalg'and reciprocates in a bearing, the outerpiece'ispreferably zirconium oxide andithe :innereis-Dreferably boron carbide. However in cases where the combination is for the support of areciprocating part which is free to move in one di- -:rection;1normalt to?therreciprocation; it;makes:'no difference which is the outer part. and which. is :rthe-inner'part. -Themoefficient;of: expansion of massive zirconium OXidBIiSTELbOHt 13BX10 *1 per .gdegree :centi'grade. 'EThe .::coefl:icient':ofsexpansion .:of :massive; .bor'on'icarbiderisK415X10 pert degree :centigrade. :Thus inithemaseiofza journallwithin a "bearingvby having the zirconium oxide piece tonithe outside,11anyihatingrof ithe parts:causes 'the' routsidepart' to eexpanctmore than :the inside part' thus preventing 'freezing. i-However in cer- :tain; instances wheresexcessive heatwill not't-be generated the .arran'gementacan .beireverse'd.

"Referring-.nowi totFigures; Land 2, a bearing support i has a zcylindrical bore l l I tin which isrpress" fitted: a sleeve 1 (-2 ofrimassivezzirconium i'oxide. "This sleeve l2*:is theibearing and in it runs a 'sleeve' l'3:.of :molded :boron-rcarbide.which I is the'journal. Thissisleeve [3 1s ifitted .onithe reduced-:portion: I 4 .of 2a frotatable *shaft 15. -At 1' the 'end' ofithe-i reduced-portion I4 isa-shoul'der I 6 against. which" the-sleeve [13 1s held-by :means :of a washer 'I 1 Land at-nuti l8: on .a' :threa'ded end I 9 ofithe shaft'l'5.

Referring know to Figures 33 and .4,ithe 3 base The pin .29 ,has :a head 3| vat ,onecendt-and. a

.screw threaded rportion .at the other-.end on which. is a.nut.33 thrusting against :a washer 3 lwhich abuts theiorkedend :30. ,Thus the journal 28 is tightly securedrto the forked. end :30 of theconnecting rod and the journal-28- is .oscillatable within the -.-bearing -26 .andin this.

carbide.

The two partblock .23 as "best shown .inrFigure 4- hasa .wideportion35- just above theslide thrust ,.plate 22 which isguidedby L-shapedslideway guides 36rheld 'onto the land -20 by :means of bolts 31. However thBI'CiiSxafgOOd slidingzclearv ance between the .L-shaped-slideway; guides 36 ..and the enlarged portion35 of the'two partblock instance the journal-28 is-made of molded 'boron 1 23. ..Lug portions .138 overlap the "ends .of the? i the apparatus is a slideway and piston rod guide for vthe piston rod 4| of a steam engine, the crank will be rotated counterclockwise and the ixthrust-willstill.befdownward. Thus the bearing 'plateibearlng combination. In such a combination:it..makes..no difference which part is zircombination of Figures 3 and 4 is a sliding thrust conium oxide and which part is boron carbide.

The-slide thrust plate bearing combination of this invention can be .Lused in many. other situnations, thatillustrated being merely one. common use 'for :a sliding thrust -izplate-bearing :COIflbination Figures 3 and 4 also illustrate a journalubearingv combination for the articulation of: parts one of which oscillates relative to the other and they also illustrate the case-of ar split bearing. The

journal bearing combination of the invention'can be used with superior-results for the rotatable or oscillatable'-support 'of machine: parts "where the thrust-is radial and-also'wher-e the thrust 1 is axial.-

Accordingly "the three embodiments herein '=depictedr.and';describ'ed are tov be taken; as purely illustrative .since the combination of the .invention can :be embodied inianyikncwni'me- 'chanical" arrangement ofi'relatively moving parts.

tact 'with relatively fmoving surfaces grinding wheels, particularlydiamond grinding wheels, are preferably used. Grindingmay-be. followed with lapping and" this manner beautiful mirror-like surfaces 'can be produced on the" hard materials herein specified. Naturally in the case of j-ournalbearing combinations the fit should be the best "that can "be achieved allowing .just

enough clearance forfree rctationand'for afilm .of oil orwater. The .journa1 bearin combination and also the sliding thrust platehearing combination offtheinvention are preferably lubricated with oil, but. so perfect are the surfaces when ground and lapped, so hard are the materials and so immune are. they in the combination spe'oified'to'theefiectsof, seizure thatthey can run dry under considerable loads andv at high spee'dsfor a long-time without deterioration. This capabilityis a great advantage in .many situations. For the manufacture of.a.sp1it.bear- .ing such as the semi-cylindrical sleeve portions 26' a full bearing is first made, then ground, then lapped,.and finally it is split into two pieces with a diamond cutofi wheel.

Tests were made of the resistance to wear of the combination of this inventionandof other combinations. In eachtest adisc four-inches in diameter and one-eighth of an inch thickwas rotated with its periphery against a flat block with a speed of rotation of 650 R. .P. M. .and a load of six pounds, for a total time of two hours i and with no lubricant, the test conditions being the same in every .case, with the-following re- Table I One advantage of the combination of the invention is that both elements are refractory as well as hard. By elements in this connection I mean the journal and bearing or the two bearing parts. Furthermore the elements will not deteriorate nor lose their wear resistant properties even if heated to a temperature of 1000 F. Another advantage of the combination of this invention is that, as a combination, it is an electrical insulator which is a desired feature for many modern machines.

Generically a journal is a bearing, so therefore generically this invention concerns a bearing combination, one element being boron carbide (as defined) and the other element being zirconium oxide (as defined). The journal bearing combination is a specific case. Slideway supporting plates and slide thrust plates are other specific cases since each is a bearing element. Each of the elements of the bearing combination is highly resistant to acids and other corrosives.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention a bearing combination in which the various objects hereinabove set forth together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved- A many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in, the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. For the zirconium oxide element in this invention I prefer the stabilized variety. There are various formulae for stabilized zirconium oxide, for example magnesia will stabilize zirconia. A stabilized zirconia is a zirconia which does not undergo a sharp volume change at a particular temperature. My experience, however, has been with lime stabilized zirconia having 3% to 6% CaO on the ZiOz and the pieces which were tested as reported in Table I were of this variety of zirconium oxide or zirconia.

Iclaim: 1 a

1. A bearing combination consisting of two elements, one of said elements being a massive piece of crystalline zirconium oxide having a purity of at least 92% total ZrOz and not more than 2% of said element being other material other than CaO and magnesia and not more than 6% of said element being material selected from the group consisting of CaO and magnesia, said. element having a ground bearing surface, and the other of said elements being a molded piece of boron carbide whose composition is 98% total boron and carbon and ranges between the empirical formulae B3.e5C and-3520C, said boron carbide element having a ground bearing surface.

2. A bearingcombinationconsisting of two elements, one of said elements being a massive piece of crystalline stabilized zirconium oxide containing 3% to 6% of CaO on the ZrOz and having a purity of 98% total ZIOz and CaO, said element having a ground bearing surface, and the other of said elements being a molded piece of boron carbide whose composition is 98% total boronand carbon and ranges between the empirical formulae B1350 and 135.200, said boron carbide element having aground bearing surface.

3. A hearing combination according to claim 1 in which one element is a journal and is the inner element and is the boron carbide element.

4. A bearing combination according to claim 2 in which one element is a journal and is the inner element and is the boron carbide element.

5. A bearing combination according to claim 1 in which one element is a slideway and the other element is a slide plate.

6. A bearing combination according to claim 2 in which one element is a slideway and the other element is a slide plate.

WILLIAM MAXWELL WHEILDON, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,027,788 Ridgway et a1. Jan. 4, 1936 2,535,526 Ballard et a1. Dec. 26, 1950 

1. A BEARING COMBINATION CONSISTING OF TWO ELEMENTS, ONE OF SAID ELEMENTS BEING A MASSIVE PIECE OF CRYSTALLINE ZIRCONIUM OXIDE HAVING A PURITY OF AT LEAST 92% TOTAL ZRO2 AND NOT MORE THAN 2% OF SAID ELEMENT BEING OTHER MATERIAL OTHER THAN CAO AND MAGNESIA AND NOT MORE THAN 6% OF SAID ELEMENT BEING MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CAO AND MAGNESIA, SAID ELE- 